Amazon Fresh in Wembley: 'Just Don't Walk In'? - a personal view

 

 'Just Walk Out' or 'Just Don't Walk In'?

 Gaynor Lloyd has written, in a personal capacity, about her thoughts on Amazon opening its Amazon Fresh cashier-less store store in Wembley Park, following concerns expressed by other councillors.

Dear All,

 

I totally understand from the below there is nothing the Council can do about choice of tenants by a commercial landlord (I assume not Council property!)

 

I hadn't heard about the store: Amazon Fresh. I've just had a quick look on  the net – though not sure where it actually is. LINK

 

I suppose what I'd be worried about  - apart from all the really important things [another Councillor]  highlights, as to the operation behind any Amazon outlet -  is it seems to be a store with potential for fewer front facing staff.  Certainly no check out - which is where we were going with self-service checkouts (sadly  - IMO -  for all sorts of reasons - but other views exist) – but thinking of reduced employment opportunities. Yes, I know we have COVID but we already have enough stuff introduced under COVID regs altering our society and there are cases already being made at Government level as to whether they will/should stay in place.

 

I suppose the practical thing is to make clear (as I am sure the Council does do) its support for unions as well as London Living Wage, etc in the workplace in our businesses - but how many staff does it employ?

 

But on the  wider issue of looking after those of our local businesses who are still able to operate (where local residents work their guts out for long hours in just this sector) -what sort of competition does this provide to those smaller retailers and take-out food/meals providers- again competing with Amazon's power and tech and resources to "price"? (Their hours are 7 days a week,7am-11pm).

 

As to Amazon's background operation, it's so good to have the GMB petition ; it'd be good to know what progress the GMB is making with Amazon; their "intention to go to the Health & Safety Executive" highlighted in this article links to a fairly old (aargh) Daily Mail article. LINK    Does anyone know?

 

And thank goodness we are not America (yet) in Amazon's union thwarting activities! LINK  

 

For employees, though, like every other business, what we need to ensure is that more people know about the employer's responsibility for Health & Safety. The Brent website is clear LINK  , and there's an email address (would be good to have a phone number too, advertised by poster campaigns - so not limited according to access to digital) LINK  

 

HSE website is clear on managing risks at work LINK .    (Warehouse example at  LINK 

 

The Council – OF COURSE - showed an excellent example, when schools were first going back and many people had real anxieties; it liaised with the Unions and there was a dedicated team who cared about getting the risk assessments right. I know we don't have that control over businesses in our Borough but we can still make it clear what the Borough expects. It's not as though Amazon doesn't have the money to provide top end solutions to whatever a proper risk assessment has revealed as necessary. Hopefully, as in the case of the store, as Amazon did their fit-out, all this will have been at the top of their agenda. We are entitled to assume it was.

 

Not everyone will use Amazon of course! ( I was sharing ideas with a pal only yesterday evening about how to avoid but that is a matter of personal choice. )

 

 

Gardiner lambasts US takeover of GP surgeries and London boroughs protest to Matt Hancock

 Brent has joined 11 other London boroughs to question Centene's take-over of GP surgeries:

 Meanwhile Barry Gardiner (Labour, Brent North) has published an article in the current Brent and Kilburn Times LINK about the issue. Unfortunately it was not published until after the Brent CCG meeting that rubber-stamped the decision to approve the takeover. (Click bottom right to enlarge to full size):

Brent public not allowed to see report of investigation into Brent Council leader's conduct

 

 Cllr Muhammed Butt (Photo: London Councils)

 

I thought the Brent electorate would like to know (be entitled to know?) the outcome of the recent complaints about Brent Council leader's conduct.  I requested a copy of the report on the investigation by Brent Monitoring  Officer, Debra Norman.  The investigation would have sought to establish if the behaviour cited infringed the Members Code of Conduct.

My request received this terse response:

Decisions notices relating to complaints under the Brent Members Code of Conduct are only published by the council where a serious complaint has been upheld and the sanction of public censure has been imposed.  That is not the case in respect of the complaints to which I believe you are referring.  I am therefore not able to provide you with a copy of the decision notice.

This suggest the complaints were not upheld but we, the electorate, cannot see the evidence that was presented and the response of Cllr Butt himself.

Clearly we are not thought capable of reaching our own conclusions based on the evidence that Debra Norman collected.

Without seeing the Decision Notice I cannot be certain of the basis of the complaints but I assume they were connected with the articles posted on this blog:

https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2021/02/lib-dem-councillor-complains-to-brent.html

https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2021/02/cllr-butt-leader-of-brent-council.html

Brent Council Leader Muhammed Butt claims 'Levelling Up' funding criteria discriminates against London

 This is an unedited press release from Brent Council published today:

 

The funding formula for a £4.8billion package of infrastructure investment has been criticised as it does not use standard measures to assess levels of need and has led to London boroughs like Brent missing out on the top priority list.

The Government’s ‘Levelling Up Fund’ details how local authorities can bid for cash to pay for projects that can help boost the economy such as transport improvements, town centre regeneration, culture and heritage.

Every local authority in England has been put into one of three tiers – with tier 1 being those areas deemed most in need of investment. Only two London’s boroughs are in the top tier that mainly contains authorities from northern England. 

Out of the three tiers, Brent has been marked down into the second group. This is despite Brent having a relatively high level of unemployment – with 23,160 residents out of work and more than 10 percent of the borough’s working age population claiming unemployment benefits. The average claimant rate across the areas first in line for cash from the Levelling Up Fund is 7 per cent, three per cent lower than Brent. 

The Office of National Statistics also shows that Brent is the 38^th worst area for average income deprivation out of 314 local authorities in England.

"If the Covid crisis has taught us anything it has proved beyond doubt how unequal our society has become,” says Cllr Muhammed Butt, Brent Council Leader. “We have all been in the same storm but we’re not all in the same boat. Inequality costs lives and prevents people in less well-off areas from reaching their full potential. 

“Even when the pandemic is over, the legacy of job losses, reduced hours and poor mental and physical health are all issues that need urgent action. No one should be left behind and levelling up parts of northern England should not be at the expense of diverse boroughs like Brent. The council is determined to make Brent better, fairer and greener but we cannot do this alone. The council is concerned that the criteria used to assess the funding needs of different areas seems to discriminate against London. We are lobbying the Government to change the funding formula and make areas like Brent a priority for investment too.”

WORLD AGAINST RACISM - Brent Civic Centre, Wembley 1pm Saturday - followed by On-line Rally

 

FROM BRENT TRADES COUNCIL

Join Brent Trades Council, Stand Up to Racism, local trade unions, and other organisations to protest racism at Brent’s Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley Park, HA9 0FJ (nearest tube Wembley Park) at 1pm

Bring your union or your organisation’s banner, physically distance, wear a mask, stay safe – limit numbers to a max of 3 per banner to ensure we remain within the law.

1pm- Take the knee at Brent’s Civic Centre

5pm – online rally: https://www.tuc.org.uk/events/world-against-racism-online-rally-un-anti-racism-day

What is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination?

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws” in 1960. In 1979, the UN General Assembly decided that a week of solidarity with the peoples struggling against racism and racial discrimination, beginning on 21 March, would be organized annually in all states across the world. Since then, the apartheid system in South Africa has been dismantled. Racist laws have been abolished in many countries, and we have built an international framework for fighting racism, guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Convention is now nearing universal ratification, yet still, in all regions, too many individuals, communities and societies continue to suffer from the injustice and stigma that racism brings.

This Saturday 20 March is UN anti-racism day. It’s 60 years since the apartheid government in South Africa gunned down people struggling for freedom but in Europe, the ugly head of racism rears its head again.

Hungary’s racist leader Viktor Orbán blames migration and ‘foreigners’ for the economic crisis. He is not the only one.

Across the world the racist right is reacting in similar ways which has led to a spike in racist attacks and which spreads fear.

Already in Britain planned draconian legislation is set to target B&ME communities. Johnson’s Tory government has failed miserably to address racism in this crisis. This new legislation must be opposed.

The report into the Windrush scandal shows the racism at the heart of the Tory government and its Hostile Environment Act. Refugees seeking asylum from war zones are being left to drown in the Mediterranean and turned back from British shores.A majority of black people are stopped and searched by the British police. The enquiry into Grenfell has still not reached any conclusion. A disproportionate of B&ME workers have suffered deaths from COVID.

Brent Cyclists call on Brent Council to work with them to address road danger at Furness Road/Harrow Road junction after death of cyclist Michael Stapleton - Police appeal for help

 

Michael Stapleton, aged 62

Following the death of Michael Stapleton, aged 62, in collision with a lorry on Tuesday, Brent cyclists have issued the following statement. The driver of the lorry failed to stop but has since been contacted by police. LINK:

 

We are deeply saddened to hear about the fatal collision between a lorry driver and a cyclist, that occurred on Tuesday afternoon at the junction of Furness Road and Harrow Road, in Harlesden. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of the cyclist who died at the scene.

 

This precise junction between Harrow Road and Furness Road was twice consulted on in the past two and a half years, in July 2018 and in January 2019. Brent Council’s proposals were presented as measures to reduce road danger. This was indeed a location identified by the council as having a “high number of accidents” and “high levels of recorded personal injuries”. This latest collision will be added to the grim tally of 9 traffic collisions already recorded at the junction in the past five years. 3 involved a pedestrian, 2 involved a pedal cyclist and 2 involved a motorcyclist.

 

In both our responses, we warned the council the measures fell far short of a comprehensive package to reduce road danger for road users who are the most at risk. Both times, we pointed out:

• 70% of serious injury or fatal collisions happen at or near junctions,

• This precise area has been identified by Transport for London as one of the top potential connection routes in the Strategic Cycle Analysis

• The proposed road layout would not eliminate left hooks which are a critical issue for people cycling and needed addressing.

• Nothing in the proposals to limit the risks of being cut when turning right, especially since Furness Road is on a slight incline, people cycling will be a bit slower to start off at a green light, whilst motorists accelerate.

• The Advanced Stop Line, even with improvements, would continue to offer next to no protection with regards to conflicts between cyclists and motor vehicles at the junction.
•  

We made several recommendations ranging from:

• Keeping enough of the central island to provide some physical separation on the junction and bypass it altogether.

• A short, shared space section on the mostly unfrequented pavement on Harrow Road.

• Introducing a phased traffic light to give cyclists a head start and limit mixing at the junction with moving motor traffic.
•  

None of these suggestions were acted upon. We know we cannot fully design out collisions but there is always scope to limit the consequences. This starts with designing a forgiving infrastructure that would act as a buffer to protect pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists from people driving dangerously, too fast and without due care.  

 

We now urge Brent Council to work with us and competently address road danger at this location as soon as possible and in full compliance with the latest regulatory guidance.

POLICE APPEAL

 

Police are appealing for information relating to a fatal hit and run in north London.

 

Police were called by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) at 16:07hrs on Tuesday, 16 March to reports of a lorry in collision with a cyclist on High Street at the junction with Furness Road, NW10.

 

Officers attended. Despite the efforts of the emergency services, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

The man has been identified as 62-year-old Michael Stapleton of NW2. His next of kin have been informed.

 

The driver failed to stop. Officers have since made contact with the driver. No arrests have been made.

 

If anyone has any dashcam or CCTV footage, or witnessed the collision please contact police via 101 quoting reference Cad 4977/16Mar or the Serious Collision Investigation Unit witness line at Alperton on 020 8246 9820.

 

You can also email

 

AT Medic and Operose to be called in for 'grilling' by Brent Primary Care Commissioning Committee

 Following concerns raised by individuals, Brent Patient Voice and posts on this blog the Brent CCG's Primary Care Commissioning Committee decided this afternoon to call in AT Medics and parent company Operose for what the chair termed  a 'grilling' by the Committee. AT Medics is due to take over the Burnley Practice (Willesden) and Wembley Practice in Brent.

It was  unclear whether the results of that session could make any difference to the 'conditional' decision made in December - today's discussion was the first 'in public' airing of the issues and contained information that had not been available in December and included chanegs in control and  the down-grading of people who had been listed as directors.

Research by Brent Patient Voice, Nan Tewari and other individuals had unearthed financial and strategy issues concerning the companies involved AT Medics, Operose and tabove them the wholly American company Centene.

Gaynor Lloyd expressed astonishment at the lack of due diligence. Operose had made a loss in every year of its creation in 2016 and relied on a £9m funding from Centane.  She was surpised that no conditions had been put on the contract and asked if the CCG had complied with the procurement process. Nan Tewari said it had actively purused takeovers of loss making entities in the UK.

CCG officers said that services taken over by the contractor had received 'Good' and 'Oustanding' ratings.

Peter Latham, Chair of Burnley Medical Practice (one f those affected) and Vice Chair of Brent Patient Voice said that AT Medics had told staff not to inform patients of the takeover as it didn't affect them. They did not disclose that they were an off-shoot of Centene Corporation. 

Another aspect he raised was that the small print of the Privacy Policy on the practice website, required to access its facilities, that gave permission to share data with third parties for marketing purposes. The Chair of the meeting confessed that would worry her but officers said that all practices would be guided by GDPR.

Assurances had been given that AT Medics would make no changes in current personnel and that Patient Participation Groups would continue. GPs and other staff could of course decide to leave the practice.

The practices would be monitored for progress against Key Performance Indicators and Action Plans put in place if necessary.

Thr meeting was told that there would be an article about the issue in the Brent and Kilburn Times by Barry Gardiner, but unfortunately this had not been published at the time of the meeting so not available for consideration.

The Committee made the following decisions:

1. Undertake to gather more of the assurance documents involved and make them available.

2. Convene a meeting where directors of AT Medic and Operone could answer a range of questions in the spirit of GMS merger scrutiny sessions.

3. Provide answers to the list of detailed questions asked in a 12 page letter submitted by Brent Patient Voice

 A further question had been asked in the meeting for which no immediate answer could be given over whether if there was a financial failing in the practices that had been taken over, would action have to be taken in the US courts. Perhaps that could be added to the list.

Nan Tewari posed the question in 'Chat' at the end of the discussion as to whether the PCCC was acting lawfully in this case and added this comment after the meeting:

Notably, the only Brent Councillor who held the CCG's Primary Care Commissioning Committee to account was Gaynor Lloyd (Barnhill Ward).

One of the areas she floored the PCCC on, was whether they has followed the public procurement regulations in relation to the contract transfer.  

She had to insist three times before they finally admitted that they had not.

As expected, the PCCC gutlessly ratified the Operose takeover. Presumably their own thinking faculties just go into suspense when orders are handed down to them from on high (NHS North West London).

The question now is whether the outgoing CCG decision makers acted lawfully?

 I republish below a 'Comment' made on the earlier blog post abut Nan Tewari's concerns that I think is of relevance to the above.

I had not read Robin Sharp's excellently formulated letter before making my earlier comment above. The letter was very well researched, and his reasoning as to why Brent's Clinical Commissioning Group should be very wary of a takeover of Brent G.P. surgeries by Operose was spot-on!

Having had a look at some of the company records involved, I agree that there is a lack of transparency, and some complicated structures - something which in my experience is often exploited to try and conceal things that a regulator, or Tax Inspector, might find of interest.

As at 31 December 2019, the holding company for the UK group which Operose Health Ltd is part of, MH Services International Holdings (UK) Ltd, had creditors falling due within one year of nearly £49m (£48,999k).

It owed Centene Corporation £37.8m at the end of 2019, and then notes that it received a further £13m in 2020. These debts are unsecured, but repayable on demand.

Its accounts (audited by KPMG) have been prepared on the basis that the UK group is a "going concern". This is because Centene has advised 'that it does not intend to seek repayment of the amounts due at the balance sheet date, for the period covered by the forecasts.' Those financial forecasts only go up to 31 December 2021, and the accounts note that there is a risk that those forecasts may not be met.

The Director who made all the statements in connection with the holding company accounts to 32 December 2019, and signed them off, is not one of the company's UK resident directors, but Tricia Dinkelman. Her address is given as Centene Plaza, 7700 Forsyth Blvd., St Louis, Missouri, MO-63105.

That is also the address of Centene Corporation, which is a US company registered on the New York Stock Exchange, reg. 42-1406317.

The Delaware connection, referred to in Robin Sharp's letter, is that the money which the UK group owes to Centene, has not come directly from Centene Corporation, but via its Delaware registered "affiliate", MHS Consulting International Inc.

I hope that this information will be of use to Brent Patient Voice, in their efforts to get the Clinical Commissioning Group to consider VERY carefully whether Operose is a suitable organisation to take over Brent G.P. practices.

Centene Corporation obviously appears to feel that large investments in UK NHS G.P. practices will pay dividends with profits (at the expense of UK taxpayers) in future.

It is clear from the business model policies set out in the accounts of the group holding company, MH Services International Holdings (UK) Ltd, that this will involve the closure of non-profitable parts of its business (i.e. G.P. practices that still don't make a profit after it has "rationalised" them to make them more efficient).

It also seems likely, from these policies, that G.P. practices will be charged for the consultancy services provided to help make them more efficient!

The "bottom line" is that, if this sort of "takeover" is allowed to go ahead, our NHS G.P. Services will be privatised, the Government (i.e. taxpayers) will pay more for a reduced service, and the profits will end up in the U.S.A.

The battle against privatisation of Brent GP practices is going on right now

Brent CCG is discussing the takeover of two Brent practices t and appears unlikely to oppose. Join HERE

Nan Tewari has put this forward to the meeting which has just  started:

The PCCC of Brent CCG wishes to NOTE that in ratifying the consent as recommended by Officers of the North West London Collaboration, a number of events have occurred since the PCCC gave its in principle consent to the change of control of AT Medics Ltd in its Part 2 meeting in late 2020.

(a)   The 18 Feb 2021 letter confirming ‘change of control’ letter is written by Samantha Jones [CEO, President and Director of MH Services International Holdings (UK) Ltd] who became the new CEO, President and Director of AT Medics on 10 Feb 2021.

(b)   Samantha Jones’ statement that <the existing AT Medics GP directors remain actively involved at an executive level in the business> may give rise to adverse inference in its inaccuracy, and for the avoidance of doubt should be amended to correctly refer to 'the former AT Medics GP directors..........'. 

(c)   All the AT Medics GP directors resigned their directorships on 10 Feb 2021.

(d)   The AT Medics assurance questionnaire answer on 3 Dec 2020 on the question of staffing or management changes that may take place as a result of change of control, is a straightforward description of the standard TUPE status of the former GP directors and cannot be represented as being a specific ‘assurance’ of any other nature.

(e)   Information of public interest relating to Operose Health Ltd and MH Services International Holdings (UK) Ltd, deriving from Companies House financial records, that has come to the attention of the PCCC and its non-voting, Brent Council representatives, is summarised below.

 

As at 31 December 2019, the holding company for the UK group which Operose Health Ltd is part of, MH Services International Holdings (UK) Ltd, had creditors falling due within one year of nearly £49m (£48,999k).

It owed Centene Corporation £37.8m at the end of 2019, and then notes that it received a further £13m in 2020.  These debts are unsecured, but repayable on demand.

Its accounts (audited by KPMG) have been prepared on the basis that the UK group is a "going concern".  This is because Centene has advised “that it does not intend to seek repayment of the amounts due at the balance sheet date, for the period covered by the forecasts.”  Those financial forecasts only go up to 31 December 2021, and the accounts note that there is a risk that those forecasts may not be met.

The Director who made all the statements in connection with the holding company accounts to 32 December 2019, and signed them off, is not one of the company's UK resident directors, but Tricia Dinkelman.  Her address is given as Centene Plaza, 7700 Forsyth Blvd., St Louis, Missouri, MO-63105.

That is also the address of Centene Corporation, which is a US company registered on the New York Stock Exchange, reg. 42-1406317.

The money which the UK group owes to Centene Corporation has not come directly from Centene, but via its Delaware registered "affiliate", MHS Consulting International Inc.

The business model policies that are set in the accounts of the group holding company, MH Services International Holdings (UK) Ltd, indicate an intention to close non-profitable parts of its business.

From We Own IT

Nearly 50,000 from all across the UK have signed the petition asking health chiefs to kick Centene out of NHS GP practices - amazing! Will you join us for an hour tomorrow to take the next steps to win this campaign to protect our NHS? We've got a plan - now we just need your help to make it happen! Please join us whether or not your GP surgery is directly affected. Can you join the online organising meeting at 6:30pm on Thursday, 18th March?

Sign up for the organising meeting

A US healthcare profiteer, Centene, has recently taken over 49 NHS GP practices. This is terrible news for the NHS. Millions of Pounds will be syphoned out of those GP practices in shareholder profits and the care people receive will suffer greatly as a result.  The pay and conditions of GP surgery staff (including GPs) could likewise suffer, which would affect morale and therefore patient care. And, this could lead to more of our local GP practices being closed down for not being profitable. Wherever you live and whether you are currently affected, this matters to you because Centene could be coming to your neck of the woods soon. Local health authorities (CCGs) have the power to terminate Centene's primary care contracts and kick them out. We need to force the authorities to take that step.